Congratulations on your new best friend! A new puppy or kitty in the household is an exciting time. It is also a work in progress, and making sure you have your first vet visit scheduled should be at the top of your list! Ensuring your first visit to the vet is a happy and calming experience is essential for the long-term health care of your puppy or kitty, and it can lay the foundation for a lifetime of more comfortable, fear-free visits to the vet.

Here is what you need to know to prepare for your first visit to the vet:

Give lots of love

Many kitties and puppies are happy to meet new people and places with wagging tails. But a vet clinic has different smells, sounds, and sights than your home, and the staff needs to touch puppies in particular ways that can create puppy concern. Sometimes your pet will be shy, and one upsetting experience may turn off a once confident pet.

Pet and cuddle your new baby lots! This will help make sure when the technician picks up and touches your puppy or kitty that they do not get scared. Pet as you always do, but also gently handle his ears, lift up their tail, and hold each paw. Make head-to-tail touch part of your daily routine for three to five days.

Make car rides fun

Turn the car into a puppy or kitty place of fun! Try sitting with your pup in the car, engine off, and play with a squeaky toy or give them a few treats while someone else drives. The key is to make your vehicle a happy and safe place.

Schedule a trial run

Ask your veterinarian to schedule a “trial run” for your pup or kitty to visit the clinic and meet the staff. Visiting the clinic during a slow period for even five minutes in advance of the “real” visit will set them up for success.

At Sunrise, we pride ourselves on being a Fear-Free practice.

What does this mean? Employing Fear-Free practices means we promote a positive vet visit - both physically and emotionally - for both you and your pet. We look at the whole picture of your pet’s health; reducing stress and anxiety that may come with visiting the vet. We use a variety of practices, methods, and tools to create a low-stress environment so that many of the kitties and puppies that come through our doors don’t want to leave!